THE POWER OF YESLyttelton Theatre,
London SE1
Opened 6 October, 2009**

How on earth can you make theatre out of financial arcana, asks one
figure early in David Hare’s new work. Well, see the Royal Court or
Shunt, both of whom currently have vibrant productions about great
corporate collapses playing in London. Hare, on the other hand, opts to
follow the same strategy as in his investigative/journalistic play
about Britain’s railways, The
Permanent Way: he interviews people and then puts versions of
them onstage to testify. However, director Angus Jackson here does not
respond as nearly as well to the problem of how to animate such a
piece. In the 110 uninterrupted minutes of The Power Of Yes, people enter and
exit, they talk, sometimes someone sits down and once or twice even
writes something on a blackboard (“Well, that was a lesson,” said
someone behind me in the foyer afterwards, though I don’t think he
meant it so literally), but as far as I could see only two things
actually happen. At one point someone gets on a bicycle and pedals
offstage, and at another someone else throws into the air a handful of
glitter pulled from a financial folder. Oh, there are captions and
projected graphics, but in terms of basic activity, Hellzapoppin' it ain’t.

Note, too, that I call it a “work” or a “piece”: the first line,
uttered by Anthony Calf as “the Author”, is “This isn’t a play.” No
argument here. In fact, I don’t even think the subtitle A dramatist seeks to understand the
financial crisis is honest. It seems to me rather that Hare
seeks to maintain but direct the audience’s incomprehension. After
listening to testimony from actors representing the likes of Adair
Turner, Howard Davies, Jon Cruddas MP, BBC economics editor Paul Mason
and a host of City figures (many of whom, it is noted, work or have
worked for this paper), we are, like the judge in the old joke, none
the wiser but at least better informed. Hare uses his own supposed
ignorance of financial matters as an excuse to provide a fragmented
picture where the bankers are to blame... no, the regulators... no, the
legislators... no, everyone... no, no-one... no... hang on... whilst
all the time implicitly endorsing the values of a moderate, responsible
social market. It is no surprise that the last word goes to George
Soros, the former hedge-fund manager with a social conscience. The cast
is full of actors who wear suits well, including Simon Williams, Paul
Freeman and Malcolm Sinclair, and they all (17 men and three women)
walk and talk articulately. But for either theatre or understanding,
better go elsewhere.